DavidM the citation is from the BOM, which is an obvious lifting of Ephesians 2:8-9
2 Ne. 25: 23 For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.
If we are saved AFTER ALL we can do, when do you know you have done all?
Excepting Christ, has anyone really done all they can?
Moro. 10: 32 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.
My question then is if we could deny ourselves of ALL ungodliness what do we need grace for?
Titus 3 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
It is either through His mercy you are saved, or through your works that you are lost.
What is your choice?
David Miller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
DaveH wrote:
> In the LDS realm, grace is the action Jesus did (I don't
> think I worded it very well) that makes it possible for us
> to be saved. Had he not atoned for our sins, nor been
> resurrected so we too can enjoy that gift.....then nothing
> we could do on our own could bring salvation to ourselves.
> Therefore.....it is by the grace of Jesus we are saved.
> That does not mean we do not have to meet certain requirements
> as many Christians believe. Jesus gave the requirements....
> and as I see it, many Christians want to minimize the
> importance and necessity of some of those requirements.
I agree with your criticism of how many Christians do not recognize the
standards that God has. It seems that many want to pretend that the law
was a mistake to begin with and should never have been given.
Nevertheless, Mormons have a phrase that gets to the heart of the
problem. What is that phrase that you and Blaine have shared?
Something like, "God saves us after we have done all that we can do."
That concept is like we do the best we can, and God makes up the
difference. Many Protestants have a similar phrase, "God helps those
who help themselves." This religious proverb is so common among
Protestants that many think it is a verse in the Bible. I have heard it
quoted as a verse in the Bible many times.
My perception is that nobody can be saved with this attitude that
Mormons and many Protestants have. Many of us here believe in
repentance from dead works. This is a deep realization that we can do
NOTHING. Only by a person realizing that all his efforts are vain and
dead can he put the kind of absolute trust in Christ that is necessary.
If a person thinks that he helps God, or that he does what he can and
God makes up the slack, then his faith and confidence is partly in
himself and partly in God. That doesn't work. God requires 100%
dependence upon him. Those who have the attitude that they are helping
God in their salvation or even helping Him in their own sanctification,
they will experience frustration as the Spirit of God will withdraw his
power from those who place any confidence whatsoever in their own
ability. On the other hand, those who stop trying and rely completely
upon Christ will experience a power and ability that would otherwise be
humanly impossible. Only under this condition can the works of Christ
be manifest through us.
Peace be with you.
David Miller, Beverly Hills, Florida.
----------
"Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org
If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed.
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Photos: High-quality 4x6 digital prints for 25¢
